Posts

As Good as Gold

This is still one of my favorite wood combinations for the Hawaiian Ukulele:  curly Hawaiian Koa and curly Black Walnut.  The wood densities are a close match for sound and the color contrast makes for an appealing…

Keep’n it Simple

Here's a recently completed "shop" tenor ukulele.  The body is solid curly Koa.  The neck is also Koa but with a curly maple stringer to match the curly maple binding.  I've accented with Vanuatu Maidou burl.  The fret board and bridge are…

New Premium Koa

Two weeks ago I purchased this Koa from a local wood supplier who had been storing this wood for the last 15-20 years.  Who knows how old it was before this individual purchased it.   The billet was a bit pricey but what quality Koa isn't…

Puka Paradise

Just another day in puka paradise!  Not a highly figured koa, but nice.  Double puka's seem to work as well as the side concert sound hole design, although I can only speculate as to why.  I used Hawaiian Mango for binding accented with…

Double Puka Koa Tenor

I have built a number of double puka ukes in the past but for some reason they are not high on the list of requests.  I was totally re- motivated after seeing HAPA this year though and thought it was high time to make another.  Here are a…

Olukai Ho’olaule’a 2014

Yes, it is that time of the year again.  Hopefully the gods prevailed this year with good winds and prevailing surf for the most classic open water event of the year.  If you are into stand up paddling, outrigger canoeing or Hawaiiana then…

Koa, Koa, Koa!

For all you Koa affectionados, here's a new tenor constructed entirely of Koa with the exception of the internal bracing.  I have used Gotoh 4::1 tuners, and its new owner has the option of selecting amplification, strings, and case.  It's…

Hula Hips Redux

Here is a Hula Hips tenor--overall dimensions the same as the tenor except for the lower bout which is 10 1/4 inches.  The result adds a ton of volume to the instrument, resulting in a lower pitch with more volume and sustain.  I used a classic…

Heals, Just Heals

Just some pics of heal features that I have made in the past.  It's all evolving.

I’m a Sap for Sapwood!

Here's a new tenor with a wood that I have built with before.  My client just loved the look and I do too.  Personally, I love variation in the wood such as this sap wood center (click on the pictures for a closer look).  I'm not as fortunate…